Helping The Homeless

As many here know by now we here in Minnesota have had some really frigid weather with the temperatures getting down to 2o below zero farenheit with windchills of nearly 50 below zero. Now the homeless are at a deadly risk with this weather. The Salvation Army has been driving around to spots that the homeless are known to congregate offering them a place to stay at their shelters. They have filled their shelters so much that some people are sleeping in chairs as there are no cots or beds left. I donate as much as I can to the Salvation Army as I used their services many years ago when our children were small & our income was very small as well. They are a great orginization. So do you donate to any charitable organization each year? If so why do you do it? Have you ever had to use a service such as what Salvation Army offers?
HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB !!~

I am of no religion so maybe i shouldn't say anything but i feel if the churces and i mean all religions were really doing the work of god then it is they that should be opening their doors to the homeless, their doors should never be closed, some of the main religions are positively rich, all the money that comes their way should be put into helping the unfortunate...

Thanks bunches. Salvation Army does have their Harbor Lights program which offers beds to the homeless. But once it gets filled in warmer weather they close their doors. But as it's been so cold they are TAKING IN ALL AND TURNING NONE AWAY filling it over the brim.
HAPPY POSATINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB !!~

hi Bob i like to help feed the children and the Christian childerns fund and the red cross when i was out of my home from a flood years ago the red cross feed us and gave us a place to stay for 2 weeks and it was wonderful there were many people and we helped each other out

My wife and I sponsored a child through the CCF many years ago from mexico. Red cross is a great organization also. My father donates a few hundred dollars each year to them. Thanks for the response.
HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB !!~

With the economy the way it is, it's a bad time of year for alot of families. I'm sure alot more people are using services like what the Salvation Army provides to help with heating costs. Homelessness has been a huge problem in the US for a long time. Before I left Ohio in the middle of last year, the subprime mortgage mess was just starting to hit really hard. I can only imagine how many people are on the streets right now because of it.
My husband and I have been fortunate to not need to use organizations like that, we've come close many times. There was an organization back home called Operation Blessing that accepted furniture, household items and clothing. We would donate many things to them a few times a year knowing that they participated with the Red Cross and would give the items free to families in need.
We don't celebrate Christmas but we gave to the Toys for Tots Foundation and bought toys for the Giving Tree program every Christmas. Now that we're in Jordan, money is a little tighter right now but we give to the Red Crescent Society when we can and donate canned food items to a local place that provides assistance to refugees.

We have Catholic Charities here that I have donated to a few times that helps all people in need of things such as food, shelter, clothing, furniture etc as well. That's one I've nevr donated to yet is Toys for Tots. Maybe I'll have my grandsons help me gop around collecting for them this year to give. Thank you very much for your time here also.
HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB !!~

I buy stuff at the Salvation Army stores and Goodwill when I can. Not just to save money, but to support their organization. I have been fortunate that I have not had to use any of their services, but my client gets help from Meals on Wheels. She's even accessed a few other groups a few times, but prefers to not have to use them.

We used S.A. for a few years to assist with gifts for our children when they were little then also a check for the grocery store to buy Christmas and Thanksgiving dinner. It helped a great deal and I like to return the favor so others can get the same needed food etc that we needed when were poor.
HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB !!~

i don't see many homeless people in Singapore. I guess because they don't sleep rough. Or perhaps they do, but not in the areas that i walk past at night.
Yes i contribute monthly to the work of World Vision. I have sponsored a child in South Africa. It's always very interesting to receive updates and see how the child has grown and how his community is benefitting from the help of sponsors who also develop the community through the area development programme of the local world vision office.

The homeless here sleep under highway bridges and some even sleep in city parks. They have even built waht are called tent cities. But the city comes by and tears them down as they are very unsightly looking. They sleep where they can out of the wind and cold and snow. Some have even turned down the Salvation Army's offer of a warm place to sleep as they are so used to being outside and don't want charity.
HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB !!~

We don't experience snow in my country and the coldest ever where i live is around 25 degrees celsius... thank God for that... we also do not have a salvation army so most of the time i donate old clothes and furniture to relative are less fortunate than us...
I use to wish that my country would experience snow... but realizing that it will bring more harm than good... i think the hot and humid climate will do for me...

I've also donated clothing and other items to different charities as well. I have also donated canned and boxed foods to area food shelves also. Every little bit helps.
HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB !!~

I don't donate money to charities but I do donate other things. There is a place called CVAN here that raises money for the battered women's shelter. They have a house where the women and their children can go. They have a store where people donate things such as women's clothes, children's clothes, shoes, household items, books, etc... and they put that money into the shelter and I take stuff there usually two times or more a year. I have also donated stuff to the Salvation Army before too. I just don't have a lot of money to donate but I do try to take different items to them. I've never had to use those places before but I know a lot of people have to so I like to donate and try to help out people in need.

I shop at the local Goodwill store and I also donate canned goods and non-perishables to our local food pantry that helps 200 families. We have a small homeless shelter to which my nursing students always give their proceeds from bakesales and other fundraisers. Last year we raised enough to buy a crib, crib mattress, sheets, and other much needed baby items for the shelter. We do a paper drive for them each year too....where we solicit other students on campus to donate toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, and other such items.

No matter how poor we were, we haven't been a recepient of help of any noble organizations such as that of Salvation Army. I guess, we just never qualified or my parents never went to any to them. I am from another country and i have heard a lot about the Salvation Army and the good deeds that they have done. We have always donated clothes to victims of flood, fire and othe tragedies.

The Salvation Army are a fantastic church. What they do to help various people is wonderful, without any committment for people to convert to their religion. They actually practise what they preach.
I have always regularly donated to the Salvoes.
My late husband was buried by the Salvoes.

The Salvation Army is one of my favorite chairities. I do wish I could afford to donate more to them. I do my best to never walk by a kettle at Christmas time without putting some money in it. I have also donated to some special times of giving. Like some of the Natural disasters that happen. I do feel so sorry for the homeless, specially when its wintertime. Thank God for people who support the different charities and for the people who run them.

I've lost quite a lot of weight, and as I do I give all of my clothes to Goodwill, the Salvation Army, or Vietnam Vets. I feel good about it because I buy clothes that last, so anyone who get them really has a good quality product. They don't look used. I don't do garage sales, I just give to those kind of organizations. In fact, the last time I gave to Goodwill, I looked around for the shop with the worst selection (meaning pathetic and flimsy items), and donated my items to them. Homeless or almost homeless people shouldn't have to accept things with holes just because that is all I'm willing to give, ya know?

I do give to the Salvation army and other organizations like that. I give because I am more fortunate then some. There are homeless that are out there because things just kept going wrong and not because of any fault of their own! Some lost jobs....which means they lost homes...and other things. When you give to something like the Salvation army or other organizations you are actually giving to yourself too....knowing that you might have helped someone who really needed it!